By Josh LaBella
The Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn.
STAMFORD, Conn. — Two people are in custody Wednesday following a car and foot chase involving a suspect in the beating and robbery of a New York City Police Department officer in May, an official says.
Joner Hernandez and Betsy Bermudez , both 27-year-olds from the Bronx, are facing charges from Connecticut State Police, Stamford police Sgt. Jeffrey Booth said in a news release Wednesday night.
Booth said a BMW X3 SUV wanted in connection with the robbery in New York fled NYPD officers when spotted, so a pursuit was initiated. Several law enforcement agencies were involved in the arrests, he said, including the Westchester County Aviation Unit.
When the pursuit entered into Connecticut , Booth said, the suspect vehicle was located by a Connecticut state trooper when it exited the I-95 entrance ramp from Canal Street in Stamford the wrong way at South State Street . He said the trooper located the BMW on Canal Street at North State Street and initiated a pursuit.
Booth said the suspect vehicle would not stop for the trooper and entered Summer Street the wrong way from Spring Street , going north onto the one-way road. At the intersection of Summer and Hoyt streets, he said, the suspect vehicle continued north through the left, southbound travel lane as the trooper attempted to follow the suspect.
At about 2:23 p.m. , Booth said, the trooper was then struck by a Toyota SUV that was traveling West on Hoyt Street while attempting to cross Summer Street . After the impact of the first collision, he said, the CSP cruiser struck a Sprinter van, which was going south on Summer Street , causing it to rotate and strike a parked Jeep Wrangler.
The police cruiser then came to rest after striking the front end of a Honda SUV, Booth said.
Booth said the state trooper, along with the operators of the Toyota , Sprinter and Honda were all transported to Stamford Hospital by Stamford EMS for treatment non life-threatening injuries. He said all of the vehicles suffered heavy damage and had to be towed from the scene, noting Summer Street was closed for about two hours.
Booth said the BMW continued operating recklessly through Stamford after the collision until it got on the Merritt Parkway headed north. Once on the parkway, he said, the operator and his female passenger both abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.
Stamford Police , along with Connecticut State Police and NYPD were all in the area and formed a perimeter, Booth said.
“K-9 units from Stamford were deployed, as was a drone. The suspects were both located hiding in private yards in Stamford , and both were taken into custody,” he said.
Booth said the Stamford Police CARS unit will be conducting the investigation into the collision that occurred at the intersection of Summer and Hoyt streets. He said there are no charges being filed against anyone regarding the collision at this time.
Earlier on Wednesday, Stamford Assistant Police Chief Richard Conklin said the suspects were involved in the assault and robbery of an off-duty police officer in New York . Conklin said it was a group of people involved in the incident, but just two were involved in the pursuit toward Connecticut .
“There was a lot of moving parts,” he said.
Conklin said the two people were chased through Westchester , around Greenwich and then into Stamford . He said New York authorities had a helicopter in the air monitoring and keeping an eye on the suspect vehicle.
Conklin said more than 100 officers from the NYPD , New York State Police , Connecticut State Police and the FBI were involved in the pursuit.
“Kudos to this combined force on one of the hottest days of the year — setting up a large perimeter, tracking these people through the woods and then taking them into custody,” he said.
According to NBC New York, a 27-year-old off-duty NYPD officer was on St. Peters Avenue in Westchester Square in the Bronx shortly after 4 a.m. in late May when two suspects attack him. It reports the two men held a knife to his throat and beat him, punching him and kicking him so hard it left a shoe print on his face.
NBC New York said the men rummaged through his pockets, allegedly stealing his iPhone, wallet and eventually taking the officer’s registered firearm. It said New York City Mayor Eric Adams posted video of the officer, who appeared to be alert and able to talk.
NBC New York said one of the suspects has been identified as 23-year-old Taveon Hargrove .
ABC reports Hargrove was arrested in Virginia , extradited to New York and arraigned in court on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear what role the suspects arrested in Connecticut played in the assault.
In a post Facebook earlier in the day, the Stamford Police Department said there was a large police presence in the area of Summer and Hoyt streets as well as Long Ridge Road , Wire Mill Road and Clay Hill Road . They said there was no danger to the public.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
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